Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called on devotees to keep a key Hindu festival symbolic, amid concerns over the spread of COVID-19 infections, as the country reported more than 200,000 new cases by the third day. consecutive.
Criticism has escalated over the Indian government’s management of the health crisis as religious holidays and election rallies continue despite reports of shortages of hospital beds, oxygen cylinders and vaccination doses. Read more
India reported 234,692 COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to nearly 14.5 million, just after the United States.
Deaths due to illness increased from 1,341 to 175,649.
After hundreds of thousands of Hindu ascetics and devotees gathered for several days on the banks of the Ganges to celebrate a Kumbh Mela religious festival, Modi on Saturday called for moderation, saying on Twitter that the festival should now be held. ” symbolic “.
In response to Modi’s appeal, one of the religious leaders Swami Avdheshanand urged devotees not to gather in large numbers. Devout Hindus believe that bathing in the holy Ganges exempts people from sins and, during the Kumbh Mela, brings salvation from the cycle of life and death.
Those returning to Mumbai in western Maharashtra from Kumbh Mela will be quarantined in hotels, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said. Maharashtra accounts for a quarter of coronavirus cases in India and is the most affected region.
Experts have warned about the spread of more contagious variants of the disease, especially during large-scale meetings for religious festivals and political rallies.
On Saturday, Modi planned to hold two rallies in East East Bengal, where there are state polls. In recent weeks, these rallies have attracted thousands of people, few of whom follow the COVID-19 security protocols.
“Stop the spread concentrations,” the Times of India said in an editorial on Saturday, adding, “Business as always is an unattainable luxury until this virus is conclusively domesticated.”
India’s daily vaccines against COVID-19 have been reduced from their all-time high earlier this month and many state governments have called for more doses.
Federal Health Minister Harsh Vardhan assured states that there was no shortage and that 11.6 million doses would be available in a week, adding that 125 million doses had already been administered.
Some state governments in India have expressed concerns about the hoarding and black marketing of remdesivir, an antiviral drug. Read more
Nawab Malik, a Maharashtra minister, accused the Modi federal government on Twitter of restricting Remdesivir’s supplies to the state. A Modi cabinet minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, denied the allegation and said adequate supplies were being made available.
After imposing one of the tightest closures in the world for nearly three months last year, the Indian government relaxed almost all sidewalks in early 2021, although many regions have now introduced localized restrictions.
“This is Narendra Modi’s biggest crisis to date. It is bigger than any security threat, external or internal, or even the economic attrition of 2020,” the prominent editor wrote in a column on Saturday and political commentator Shekhar Gupta.
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